


a little much

by bitterbubblegumbitch



Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-08 02:16:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20827739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitterbubblegumbitch/pseuds/bitterbubblegumbitch
Summary: This is a big ol' rewrite of the Gifted, trying to follow some plot points, but focusing on Andy Strucker and delving into different details and story lines.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you're like me and saw the potential in Andy's character but didn't love where they took his arc, this might be for you!

Andy Strucker is only in his second year of high school but he knows one thing-- it sucks.

It's not the first time he's finished the day with bruises but it is the first time they've made the mistake of leaving one on his face. When the bell rings, he rushes out to the car and waits for Lauren. The hallways and parking lot and bathrooms and empty classrooms are dangerous when you're prey like him.

His sister finally shows up 15 minutes late but Andy doesn't snark about it like he usually does. She unlocks the door, and he slides into the passenger seat slowly, careful not to aggravate the bruises on his upper back.

Turns out, lockers are dangerous too.

Andy can feel Lauren's stare on the back of his neck so he pulls his hood up and curls further away from her, resting his forehead on the window, soaking in the coolness.

"Have a rough day today? I know I did. Mr. Harris pop-quizzed us because some people can't shut up for five minutes," Lauren tries for a conversation.

He tries not to feel bitter that his sister's idea of a rough day is a pop quiz because he knows it's not fair to her or accurate. But he does maintain the silence, even as her worry thickens the strained atmosphere in the car, until they pull into the garage. Lauren turns the keys and sags into her seat but Andy's not ready for this conversation, won't be ready to explain once his parents come home, even if his dad doesn't make it by dinner again, so he peels his face from the glass.

There's reading to do for his global studies class _and_ honors English, he has a math test in two days, and a biology presentation that's worth 30 percent of his grade to perfect by the end of this grading period. He can't be bothered to do any of it. Not when his left eye is swollen and hot to the touch and his back aches and there's a knot in his stomach that never goes away and a lump in his throat but damn it, he's not going to cry. 

It's dark when he wakes up. His pillow is wet and his nose is stuffed up. There's voices in the living room. He closes his eyes again. 

"Hey, Andy it's time for dinner."

There's a hand brushing his hair back from his forehead, fingers running through but managing not to catch, soothing in their repetitive motions. Mom's home but he chooses not to worry about that right now. Not when she's being so gentle and reminding him that not all touch ends in hurt. Unfortunately, good things don't seem to last for him and she switches on the lamp set on his bedside table and leans over him. They have the same hair but while his is used to wrench his head back, hers shields his eyes from the shock of the light. 

"There's my son," she starts. "How are-"

She rears back, tucking her hair behind her ears, before leaning in to get a closer look. Andy squeezes his eyes shut and tries to turn his face into his pillow. 

"Oh my god, who did this to you?" His mom is having none of his attempts at hiding and presses on his shoulder until he has to roll over and face her. "Andy, _who did this_?"

"Please, mom, it was just an accident. It's stupid."

He rolls his eyes and tries to smile.

"Do you have any idea how many people come into the hospital with the same excuse? I know what caused that bruise, I want to know who."

Andy sits up and bites at his lip. He doesn't want to make a big deal out of this and yet his mom is looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"I know you've been having trouble with school lately--" she starts but Andy scoffs and her face hardens. "It is almost seven in the evening and yet you haven't even started your homework when you used to have most of it done by this hour. Your dad and I come home, and you don't speak to us. You barely eat at dinner even when I make your favorite. All you do is sit in your room and listen to music, Andy. I don't even see you draw anymore. So, please, tell me what is going on with you so that I can fix this."

He has never made his mom cry before and the sight of tears dripping onto her scrubs makes him feel sick. He wants to lay his head on her lap like when he was younger and tell her it's all true. The only time he can sleep is when he drops onto his bed after school because when he tries to sleep at night, his mind won't shut off and when it does, nightmares replace the nonstop thoughts. He can't eat because there is a constant knot tied around his stomach, making him feel ill, and sometimes he still aches from punches to the gut. He doesn't want to talk to them about it, doesn't want to open his mouth at all, or do homework, or get up. He just wants to feel peace.

But there's no way to tell her about the void in him. The one that grows with every insult thrown his way, every shove, every smack and punch. He wishes being at home would fill that gap but every night that his dad's chair remains empty at dinner time, or Lauren is too busy with her friends to spend time with him, or his mom looks too weary to bother, it grows. At least the warmth from his sheets feels like _something_.

"Tomorrow, your father and I are talking to your principal."

"No way, you can't do that! All you're gonna do is make them hate me worse."

He doesn't catch his slip-up until his mom stands up.

"Come eat dinner, we'll discuss this more when your dad gets home."

Andy slumps back into bed, pulls the comforter over his head, and refuses to surface despite his mom's gentle tugging. 

"This will be good for you, kiddo, you'll see."

The lamp clicks off, her footsteps lead away from the bed, and the door clicks shut softly.

Yeah, things will be good. There's no way his dad can take a day off on such short notice, especially not over a parent-principal conference. 


	2. Chapter 2

Andy doesn't know what his parents discussed while he hid under his blankets and eventually drifted off to sleep but he wakes up to the smell of bacon. Unusual for a Friday morning. He never got up to charge his phone last night so it's at 46 percent and reads 7:43-- 28 minutes after he's supposed to be sitting in pre-calculus. By the time he gets downstairs, there's no bacon sizzling away in a pan like he imagined but there's a plate for him on the table, his dad is pouring coffee into two travel cups, and his mom is putting the last of the dishes away. 

"Uh, good morning? How come no one woke me up?"

"I was just about to go wake you, Andy. We thought you could use a little more rest and I have a later shift today," his mom explains.

"And I'll be going to work after we speak to your principal. Eat up, we need to get going soon." His dad ruffles his hair as he passes by. 

While Andy can guess that he should be warmed by his family making such an effort for him, he just feels like a burden. Cold washes over him and panic causes his throat to close up but he chokes down some bacon and toast, very much aware of his mom's concerned eyes on him. 

It's weird, being in the car with both his parents on a school morning. It hasn't happened at all this year. One of the conditions for Lauren getting a car for her 16th birthday was that she make sure Andy got to and from school every possible day. Obviously, today wasn't one of those days as she was gone before he had woken up. Everyone stays mostly silent on the drive to North Atlanta High School but once they park, the charade's over and Andy feels glad that the lot is empty. 

"If you would give us the names of the people who did this to you, Andy, this will go a lot easier," his dad starts. "It's important to us that you feel safe here so I need you to trust me."

Andy knows there's no getting out of this now, not when two pairs of eyes are staring at him expectantly. He tugs at his jacket sleeves so that they cover his knuckles when he clenches his hands into fists. Time is ticking. His dad needs to have been at work hours ago and he's here, wasting time and who knows when his mom actually goes into work today. Either way, her time's wasting away too.

"Ryan. He's the one who hit me," he forces the words out. "But Jacob and Matthew are always there too."

His mom covers her mouth and Andy looks away. Doesn't want to see pity in her eyes. His dad clears his throat, they both get out of car, but he feels stuck to his seat until his dad comes around and opens the door. He crouches down and waits until Andy can't stand the awkward silence anymore and unbuckles his seat belt. Andy drags his feet all the way to the principal's office, hoping that no one will see him following his parents like a lost duckling. 

Apparently, someone thought to make an appointment with Mr. Washington because they are lead right into his office. The next fifteen minutes are mortifying as his mom implores the principal to do something and his father stares, sometimes nodding in support. 

"Mrs. Strucker, your son. Erm, Andy, why don't you take a seat in the front office for a bit."

It's not a question so Andy rushes out, not waiting to hear what his parents have to say about that. He walks past the plastic chairs by the secretary's desk and opts for sitting with his back against the wall just outside the door. While he waits, he pulls out a notebook and starts sketching a wolf with piercing eyes. He doesn't know why, but he's drawn to this image and starts a different version whenever he feels strongly about something. 

When his parents finally walk out, they look satisfied which only serves to make Andy more nervous.

"So," he says as he grabs his stuff and they start walking, "what's going on?"

"Mr. Washington sees eye to eye with us and he's working to resolve this issue," his mom, ever the diplomat responds. "And we were thinking, since your dad has to drop me off at home, why don't you come and keep me company before my shift? This way you also get some rest while you heal up."

The look his dad shoots his mom says there was no _we_ in forming that idea. On one hand, Andy doesn't want to run from school just because of a few idiots, but he's also 15 and those instincts say not to refuse a long weekend. 

By the time his mom leaves for the hospital, Andy thinks that maybe he should have ignored that particular instinct. He's grateful over the care and love his mom has showered him with so freely but he also feels stuck. He watches TV, reads for fun, and gets around to some of his homework, all too aware of the fact that he shouldn't be home right now.

For her part, Lauren doesn't call him lucky for getting to skip school and she doesn't press him for details. She does, however, start getting ready for the stupid dance the Spirit Club is hosting. Andy, not that he's getting any invitations to, well anywhere, isn't the party type. And he most certainly isn't into dancing in large crowds. But he is ready to leave the house and feel a little less like a coddled 10-year-old. So naturally, he sneaks into Lauren's car when he hears end her phone call by saying she's about to leave the house.

"What are you doing here?!"

Andy looks at her with the biggest 'duh' face he can muster up and replies: "I'm sneaking out, what does it look like?"

"Are you sure you want to come to the dance? With everything that's been going on?"

He tries his hardest not to roll his eyes.

"When was the last time I got to go out on a weekend?" He knows the answer is never. "Look, I feel like one of those baby cows raised in a crate, ok?"

She stays quiet for a moment and he reaches for the door handle but she groans and starts the car.

"Buckle up," she says and they're on their way.

He quickly realizes that this was not a good idea when Lauren immediately finds her boyfriend who leads her away to make-out and dance. The dark does a good job of hiding the still vivid bruise and his identity but he still looks like a weird loner. Andy sticks his hands in his jacket pockets and walks around the perimeter, trying to look casual about the fact that he's at this dance with no one. 

A few of the retractable bleachers have been left sticking out so he goes to sit, figuring he can do some people watching until he comes up with something better to do. From there, he sees a girl standing alone and figures that at minimum he can find a new friend-- two partner-less peas in a pod. As it goes with school related things, luck is not on his side. Just as he starts to approach her, three girls run up to her and they rush off to the dance floor. 

Before Andy can turn back to the bleachers, he spots Ryan a few feet away and they make eye contact. Hoping that some distance will deter him from pursuing, Andy starts walking in the opposite direction, keeping his head down. A hand on his chest stops him and when he looks up, Ryan is backed by Jacob and Matthew. 

"The school called my parents today," Ryan says as the three move as one, eating up the space between them and Andy.

His eyes go wide and he tries to defend himself, giving up when Ryan shoves him back with one hand. 

"Look, are you really going to do this here? In front of everyone?" Andy hopes that a little logic will delay their revenge. 

Instead, they look at each other and one grabs him by the front of his jacket while the other two get the door to the boys' locker room open and herd him in. Ryan lets go abruptly, causing Andy to clash with the lockers for the second time in as many days. Two sets of hands latch onto his upper-arms and wrists with bruising force even as he yells for them to stop.

"No, no, wait!" He shouts, already dreading getting his head dunked into the disgusting public school toilets.

His feet drag on the ground and their grip never falters even as he squirms and digs his heels in with all his strength. But his strength is no match for two older, athletic guys, and his shoes slide easily on the smooth floor. 

Andy tries to scream for help but even with the echo of the locker room, no one can hear him over the music blasting in the gym.

"Hey! Hey!" He tries to get their attention, tries to bargain but it's too late, they have him in front of a shower.

This is new but Andy figures getting wet is less humiliating than someone flushing the toilet while his head is in the bowl. Ryan let's go of his arm and Jacob takes his place, hands bruising different parts of his arm before he can take advantage.

"When was the last time you took a shower?" Ryan laughs as he turns the knob. 

Ice cold water hits Andy in the face like needles and he starts screaming trying to turn away and get a breath in. Ryan walks behind him, still taunting him over that stupid phone call, and Andy thinks he should have never given up their names until suddenly, he's getting blasted by steaming hot water and he can't keep a coherent thought in his head. 

All he feels is pain and panic. His biceps are throbbing, he can feel the bones in his wrists grind together, his shoulders ache as he tries to yank away, and _oh god _he can hear the knob squeak again and the water burns more, stinging across his face and chest. He hadn't realized he was screaming but now he tastes blood.

"Is that too warm for you?" Someone says in a faux concerned voice and something in Andy breaks.

Months of isolation, fear, bruises, and sadness culminate into one burning rage and he screams and screams until something in his chest pulls and all he feels is sweet relief. There's still hurt, but it feels like all the negativity is flowing out. 

The concrete under them starts to fracture, tiles start to pop off the wall and shatter, so the boys let go of Andy and step away, looking at each other in confusion. He doesn't notice the chaos around him, just keeps screaming, curling into himself. The lines spread up the walls and all the boys know is that Andy is at the center of it. With each scream, a wave of destruction passes through the gym until lights are shattering, and things come loose from the ceiling.

This time, when the three move as one, it's to move away from Andy but it's too late. A force hits the shower poles, bending them back, finally stopping the searing water from touching Andy, and another throws his tormentors back, into lockers and a bench, leaving them with bruised backs and bleeding.

By now, the gym is crumbling, threatening to come down and a new, uncontrolled chaos hits the dance floor as people run for the exits, shrieking. Lauren fights against her date's grip looking around for Andy under the disorienting red emergency lights. She runs toward the locker room, the place that had made her feel uneasy earlier, bumping shoulders with the crowd heading in the right direction. But she cannot leave without her brother.

She saves one couple from a falling light pole and keeps running, shouting for Andy though she doubts he could hear her from two feet away right now. Falling ceiling tiles force her to make a shield for herself and as she does, she make eye contact with two boys who take the time to look at her strangely before she runs past them. 

It's weird, entering the room where you can't hear most of everyone else's screams. Only Andy's. He soaking wet, so tense his hands look like claws, and he won't stop screaming, even as his voice cracks and things around him implode and break and fall. She shouts for him, again, and again.

"Andy!" It's only when she touches him, pulls his face toward her, that he stops screaming and looks at her with confused eyes. 

"It's me. It's me! We need to go."

She yanks at him, pulling him up from under his arms, and he rambles dazedly, repeating her name and apologizing. 

"Come on!"

Lauren pulls again, keeping her arms around him as support and to keep him moving forward. She doesn't notice the boy lying on the floor but Andy does. He's bleeding from the head, looking at them with disgust until they turn the corner. Luckily, the pair blends in with the crowd but instead of standing around, waiting for the police or school officials, Lauren heads for the car.

When they get there, she has to buckle Andy in. He's curled into himself again and he won't stop shaking.

"It's ok, Andy, I swear it's going to be ok. Whatever that was in there, we can figure it out."

She glances at him as much as she safely can while she drives but he's unresponsive. Her instinct tell her to press harder on the accelerator but she knows that the last thing they need right now is a traffic stop. Relief rushes through Lauren as she pulls into the garage and sees her mom's car but not their dad's. She wants to protect her brother but she doesn't know what to do right now. 

When she goes to take the keys from the ignition, she realizes that her hands are shaking badly. A few tears escape before she can put herself together. Strong. She needs to stay strong for Andy right now. She can fall apart later.

"Come on, Andy. We can get inside, get you some dry clothes, and talk to mom."

Finally, he raises his head.

"M-mom's home?" His voice is hoarse and trembles just as bad as his body. 

Another tear splashes onto her seat-belt as she tries to smile at him.

"Yeah, Andy. Mom's home and she's going to figure everything out."

Lauren has to open his door, unbuckle him, and support him as they walk into the house. Andy falls into their mom's arms and starts crying again and she wants so badly to do the same but she can't. Not yet. 

"What happened? Where have you two been?" 

And so Lauren sends Andy away to get some dry clothes on, notices how he flinches when she mentions a shower, and waits until he's gone upstairs to explain how the gym was destroyed and how she found Andy in the middle of all of it. When he comes back, he's quiet again, dressed in more layers, looking more tired and gaunt than ever. But he passes his mom's stretched out arms to heave himself onto the counter-top. 

They don't say anything until he starts talking. When he does, it's interrupted by soft sobs. 

"It just started happening. I could't stop it." His face crumples. "I was just so angry."

His mom starts asking questions and it feels like an interrogation. She leans in, and he thinks back to just yesterday and wishes he could go back to that moment. Before he was a freak. Before he hurt people. Lauren steps in then, not being able to stand the look on her brother's face. She tells the story of how she got them out of the gym and how she saved all of them, three years ago. 

Hearing his sister come out as a mutant sends relief and hope through Andy's body. If she's lived all this time normally, without giving anything away, then he can too. But his mutation sounds like the opposite of hers. Whereas she's saved people, protected them, he has--

"Are you serious? Dad puts people like us in jail."

"Just the one's that hurt people," their mom insists. 

And there it is. Andy thinks back to Ryan, on the floor, bleeding. There is no _them_. Lauren hasn't hurt people, he has. His dad can't save him. 

"You mean the ones like me?" He asks his mom who looks horrified. 

The doorbell rings.


	3. Chapter 3

"No, this is my home! You can't just come in here."

Andy and Lauren tense further as the voices at the front door escalate and then their mom is flying back. Anger pulses through Andy at the sight of his mom being pushed around by two men. The feeling turns to shame as he sees the logo on their jackets and realizes that these are agents, here for him. They step forward and rage builds in Andy's chest as they tower over his mom who is still on the floor. 

"Get away from my mom!" He steps forward and suddenly the house is rumbling. 

Both men look around nervously and one tries to defuse the situation but the feeling Andy had in the locker room is coming back. He closes his eyes, trying to push the feeling back as he connects it to the increasing trembling of the house, but it's like waves crashing into shore, over and over, forcing the sand to recede. Andy gives in. 

"Get out of house. Now!" Andy shouts and a lamp falls off the table. 

Lauren sees the agents reach for their guns so she throws up a shield and tells her family to run. Things are moving too fast and she's on autopilot, locking the garage door, and pushing Andy into the car faster. But the men are fast too and suddenly it's like her mom is moving in slow motion getting the key out of her purse and starting the car. The garage door is rising too slow. 

"Andy, what you did before-- do it!" 

All he can do is panic. He has no control over his destruction, no anger in him to fuel it. Andy can only watch as his sister saves them yet again, protects them from what he caused. 

They drive for a long time before it feels safe enough to stop. Even then, their mom pulls into the kind of gas station they would never stop at normally. One with minimal cameras and a pay phone. She makes them wait in the car while she calls their dad and when she comes back, neither sibling has said a word. The next time they stop, it's at a diner and their dad is waiting for them in a booth.

It's not long before he's throwing question after question at Andy, who doesn't have many answers. He doesn't know how it happened and even if he did, he doesn't think he can explain. 

"Ok, was anyone actually hurt?" His dad asks. 

"We don't know-" Lauren starts.

"I-. There was one kid. Ryan." Andy takes a shaky breath. "I didn't mean to, I swear. I wasn't even looking. I just wanted them to get off of me, I promise."

Lauren isn't happy that she has to jump to her brother's defense again. When she first saw her dad, she was so relieved because he always made things seem okay again. But all she could see now was the man who prosecuted people like her, like Andy, for a living.

Mexico.

His family is going to lose everything and it's his fault. Andy feels like he's going to hyperventilate so he chokes back the rising feeling of panic in him and clings to his mom. He doesn't remember much between the diner and falling into bed. There were hands on him, that he knows, guiding him into the car, back out, supporting him up the stairs. Then it's cool again and he knows they're inside but he can't come up with the next actions until someone pushes him back onto something soft. They take his shoes off and grab at his sweater but he needs it, feels naked without it, so he turns away and curls up. He hears a sigh and then blankets are cocooning him and he doesn't mean to fall asleep but it's like he took finals and ran a marathon in the same day. No nightmares come for him that night.

In the morning, only his dad is allowed to leave the room for breakfast and he comes back with lunch too. Both meals are a silent affair. Finally, Lauren convinces their parents to let them downstairs to the vending machines for a few movie snacks. At first, they're hesitant, but she cocks her head toward Andy, who hasn't really surfaced since yesterday. He hasn't smiled, barely eaten, and when he talks, it's in mumbles.

The moment they're a few feet away from the door, Lauren ducks her head to look her little brother in the eye. After everything that's happened, he's kept his head down, averted his gaze from anyone who tried to look at him or engage in conversation. 

"I know this sucks, but it's a relief to talk to mom and dad about it," she starts.

"Guess all it took was me ruining our lives," he tries to joke. She sees though him. 

"Andy. It wasn't your fault." She says as firmly as she can.

He doesn't believe her but she figures it'll take more than one day to convince him so she turns the conversation to their powers. 

Andy's relieved his sister knows him well enough to drop her point but part of him wishes she would fight him more. He only feels worse when she explains her power: being able to push things together. All he's done so far is pull things apart. He's scared he's going to do the same to his family. At least Lauren's smiling now, looking more relaxed than he's seen her since the dance, and that makes him smile too. 

They get to the vending machine and he realizes neither of them have change. Before he can offer to run back upstairs, Lauren laughs.

"This is your first lesson," she says.

"Lesson, like swimming lessons?" 

"Hey, who taught you how to swim?" She raises her hand to the vending machine and turns to him. "I can teach you this. Watch."

It's amazing, how the popcorn falls as if pushed by an invisible hand. For the first time, Andy's excited by the prospect of using his powers. 

"Focus on how you felt, okay?"

So he does, thinking back to the fear, anger, and shame he felt in the locker room and then in his house. The feeling pulls at his chest again and it's like he's being tugged back in time, hearing Ryan call him a freak, looking at weird imprints on his back and shoulders from being slammed into things, bruises on his stomach, being yanked into a bathroom stall, the roar of the toilet flushing around him, the sear of hot water on his face. 

_"Is that too warm for you?"_

Lauren stands back, watches as her brother rolls his shoulders. She can tell the second he gets into it because his head drops down and his fingers clench. She watches the knobs of his spine shift as his head twitches and worry sparks through her over his health but then she forgets as snacks in the vending machine start trembling. For a moment, she's elated that her training is working but he doesn't stop even after a dozen snacks have fallen. 

"Andy."

He's too caught up to hear her and now the whole machine is rumbling.

"Andy!" 

She can see the moment that the machine isn't going to hold much longer so she yanks him back, puts her body between him and the danger, and yelps as something slashes the side of her wrist. It's enough to break Andy out of his spell. His eyes go right to her bloody wrist and his face twists in horror at the fact that he caused something that hurt his sister.

He's rambling, repeating her name and apologizing, like that night in the locker room but again, Lauren doesn't have time to comfort him. She can only push him forward. 

"It's okay. We gotta go, now!"

Resisting the arm on his shoulder, Andy grabs a few snacks from the sparking vending machine, figuring it would be suspicious to face their parents empty handed. When they get back to the room, Lauren makes up an excuse about a faulty swinging door in the machine and Andy nods without understanding what she's saying.

The same thoughts come back: it's his fault they're here, he's hurt people, he ruins things, destroys them. It's still light outside but he goes to bed, citing a headache. It's not his head that hurts, it's his heart. He sleeps.


End file.
